Clay County, Missouri: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Missouri by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 29 deaths in 24 fatal crashes in Clay County in 2024.

FARS records 206 deaths in 191 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 8.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Missouri in the same years is 15.5.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Clay County was number 8 of 115 counties of Missouri.

Deaths in Clay County fell by 8.8% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (226) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (206).

In the counties of Missouri the deaths rose by 4.6% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 21.3% of the fatal crashes in Clay County with a known setting were rural, against 52.2% in Missouri.

To qualify as a FARS case, the crash had to involve a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and must have resulted in the death of a motorist or a non-motorist within 30 days of the crash.
The set of first files, known as the Annual Report File (ARF), is released following the crash year. The ARF is replaced about a year later with a final file, which contains additional cases or updates to cases that had become available after the ARF was released.
NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

This page rests on the FARS 2024 annual file. NHTSA released it on 1 Apr 2026. NHTSA can revise the counts in the final file. Release dates

Figure 1.Deaths in Clay County by year, 2015 to 2024

Table 1 has the numbers. Go to the table

Since the last update: no figure of this county has a change on record.

Deaths and fatal crashes by year

Table 1.Clay County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	29	24	9
2023	18	17	6
2022	15	14	8
2021	21	20	7
2020	16	14	7
2019	21	20	9
2018	27	25	9
2017	19	19	6
2016	20	18	3
2015	20	20	6
2015 to 2024	206	191	70

Each year from 1975

Figure 2.Deaths in Clay County by year, 1975 to 2024

Tallest column: 35 (1998)2024: 29

The columns with a stronger shade are the years 2015 to 2024.

Table 2.Clay County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	29	24
2023	18	17
2022	15	14
2021	21	20
2020	16	14
2019	21	20
2018	27	25
2017	19	19
2016	20	18
2015	20	20
2014	18	18
2013	19	19
2012	22	21
2011	18	16
2010	19	18
2009	18	16
2008	31	26
2007	27	22
2006	23	20
2005	31	27
2004	27	22
2003	28	23
2002	26	24
2001	25	22
2000	22	20
1999	33	29
1998	35	32
1997	22	21
1996	32	26
1995	16	16
1994	22	21
1993	20	18
1992	19	19
1991	21	19
1990	30	23
1989	23	23
1988	24	22
1987	14	14
1986	24	23
1985	19	17
1984	23	20
1983	26	24
1982	19	18
1981	22	19
1980	23	18
1979	29	24
1978	23	22
1977	29	26
1976	31	27
1975	20	15

Note: a count of 1 or 2 is written "1 or 2". A death is in FARS when it occurs in 30 days or less after the crash.

Rate for each 100,000 residents

Table 3.Clay County beside Missouri and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Clay County	Missouri	United States
2024	11.0	15.3	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	8.2	15.5	11.8

Note: the rate divides the deaths in the county by its residents. Persons who do not live in the county are in the deaths, not in the residents.

Population: Census Bureau estimates, vintage 2025. Clay County had 262,674 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Clay County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Missouri
A driver recorded as drinkingof 191 fatal crashes	70	191 fatal crashes	36.6%	27.5%
A speeding-related driverof 191 fatal crashes	78	191 fatal crashes	40.8%	36.5%
No restraint usedof 116 occupant deaths with restraint use known	68	116 occupant deathswith restraint use known	58.6%	63.5%
Pedestriansof 206 deaths	26	206 deaths	12.6%	11.9%
Bicyclistsof 206 deaths	4	206 deaths	1.9%	1.0%
Motorcyclistsof 206 deaths	49	206 deaths	23.8%	14.1%
On a rural roadof 188 fatal crashes with the condition reported	40	188 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	21.3%	52.2%
In the darkof 191 fatal crashes with the condition reported	113	191 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	59.2%	45.3%

Note: FARS records a driver as drinking when police reported alcohol involvement or a test of the driver was positive for alcohol. It is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure, which uses a blood alcohol concentration of .08 g/dL or higher. One crash can be in two or more rows. NHTSA's definitions

Note that alcohol data is often missing. For that reason, this data element may under-count the actual number of drinking drivers.

NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

Weekday, time and road class

Table 5.Clay County: fatal crashes by weekday and time of day, 2015 to 2024
Weekday	Midnight to 6 a.m.	6 a.m. to noon	Noon to 6 p.m.	6 p.m. to midnight	All
Sunday	15	1 or 2	7	10	34
Monday	4	4	4	8	20
Tuesday	3	5	7	5	20
Wednesday	3	8	7	9	27
Thursday	6	5	6	7	24
Friday	5	4	4	18	31
Saturday	11	6	6	12	35
All days	47	34	41	69	191

Note: a cell with a stronger shade has a larger count. The table has the fatal crashes with a known hour and weekday.

Table 6.Clay County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Missouri
Interstate	42	23.0%	15.3%
Other freeways and expressways	26	14.2%	7.0%
Other principal arterial	37	20.2%	23.2%
Minor arterial	25	13.7%	20.9%
Major collector	27	14.8%	19.3%
Minor collector	1 or 2	1.1%	2.5%
Local	24	13.1%	11.9%
Not reported	8	n/a	n/a

Note: the classes are those of the Federal Highway Administration. The shares are of the crashes with a reported class. Road function classes

Light condition and weather

Table 7.Clay County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	77
Dark, not lighted	80
Dark, lighted	32
Dawn	0
Dusk	1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Clay County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	142
Cloudy	34
Rain	9
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	4
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Clay County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Clay	In all of Missouri
Interstate 29	Interstate	3	56
Interstate 35	Interstate	16	48
Interstate 435	Interstate	23	101
State Route 291	State highway	6	33
State Route A	State highway	1 or 2	48
State Route H	State highway	5	82
State Route MM	State highway	1 or 2	20
State Route W	State highway	1 or 2	42
US Route 69	US highway	12	20
US Route 169	US highway	22	43

Note: the table has each route with a page that has a fatal crash in the county, in name order. Local streets and county roads have no page. Their crashes are in the county totals. All routes in Missouri

Adjacent counties

These lists are for navigation. They are in name order.

Figure 3.Clay County on the county map of Missouri

Deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year, 2015 to 2024

Fewer than 104 counties
10 to 14.917 counties
15 to 19.926 counties
20 to 29.950 counties
30 or more18 counties
Clay County: 8.2

The limits of the classes are the same for every state. A county with few residents can show a high rate from few deaths. A class is not a judgement of a county. The full map and the table of counties of Missouri

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Clay County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Wyandotte County	Kansas	21	245	14.7
Clinton County	Missouri	1 or 2	30	14.3
Jackson County	Missouri	123	1,067	15.1
Platte County	Missouri	11	116	11.0
Ray County	Missouri	1 or 2	45	19.6

Source of the list: Census Bureau county adjacency file, 2026 edition.

Counties of similar population

These counties of Missouri have a population nearest to that of Clay County. The list is for navigation and is in name order. The number is the deaths from 2015 to 2024.

Official channels

NHTSA Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST)NHTSA's query tool for FARS counts.
NHTSA FARS EncyclopediaNHTSA's tables of FARS data.
Governors Highway Safety Association: State Highway Safety OfficesThe list of the highway safety offices of the states.

These links go to the sites of the agencies. They were checked on 2 Oct 2026.

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Clay County, Missouri: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/mo/clay/. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS 2024 annual file. Data to 31 Dec 2024.

The address of this page does not change.

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Source of the figures

Counts: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, national files of 1975 to 2024. The factors use the vehicle and person files from 2015. Residents: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, vintage 2025. Map: Census Bureau cartographic boundary file, 2021 edition. Data to 31 Dec 2024. The figures are totals. No page of this site is about one crash or one person.

How the figures are made. Data sources and licences. Corrections.

Questions

How many deaths did FARS record in Clay in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 226 deaths in Clay County from 2005 to 2014. It records 206 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Clay in 2024?

The rate of Clay County in 2024 was 11.0 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Missouri was 15.3. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

How many fatal crashes in Clay had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 70 of 191 fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024. This count is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure. NHTSA says that alcohol data is often missing, so the count may be too low.

How many fatal crashes did FARS record on signed routes in Clay?

10 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 90 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.